Renegade Kid

[Update: Renegade Kid has clarified that due to "technical limitations," they may not be able to offer a Cross-Buy code for previous owners. New owners should get a code though.]
Xeodrifter, which initially launched on the 3D...

While I generally give pretty much every platformer a fair shake these days, there are two standout favorites that really blew me away in the past few years -- Steamworld Dig, and Mutant Mudds. Imagine my surprise when I foun...

Mutant Mudds has enjoyed quite a ride on Nintendo systems and beyond. It was original released in 2012 on 3DS, but eventually made its way to the Wii U, PC, Vita, PS3, and even iOS. While it was touted as a return to retro a...

Last year, Renegade Kid released Xeodrifter out into the world. It took time time, but it was eventually confirmed for the PSN. Now, according to a podcast from Nintendo Enthusiast, we know that it is also coming to the ...

Underrated DS horror jaunt Dementium: The War (here's a review by Colette from 2,000 and flippin' 7) is getting a 3DS remaster (the DS original is pictured above). It was originally pitched (and thoroughly rejected by Konami...

As the Internet continues to blink with incredulity at Konami's decision to spike one of the most exciting E3 teasers of all time, Silent Hills, here's another head-scratcher of a decision made by the Japanese ...

Xeodrifter is coming to PS4, Xbox One, and Vita this spring, Renegade Kid announced today.
The minimalist "Metroidvania" launched on 3DS and PC late last year, earning high marks from our own Jonathan Holmes, who said it might be the Mutant Mudds developer's "best game yet."
The studio also just put out a special edition on Steam, which features a dev diary and soundtrack.
Xeodrifter [Steam]

Renegade Kid has unveiled a new plan for Moon Chronicles, as more is on the way next month. On February 5, episodes 2, 3, and 4 will drop for $4.50 apiece. Or, if you're in a more carefree mode of operation, $9 for the lot.
Since the first episode already exists, the rest is basically an add-on for the previous package. Europe is still MIA in terms of a release of any kind.

Renegade Kid has announced a new project, Mutant Mudds Super Challenge.
According to studio co-founder Jools Watsham, the upcoming Wii U and Nintendo 3DS platformer isn't so much a direct sequel as it is a "stepping sto...

The Dementium series pushed the Nintendo DS to its limits, and reaped the rewards from a legion of fans that enjoyed the series for years. It's probably Renegade Kid's most known project, and now a new generation will be...

Renegade Kid is hard at work with multiple retro-themed projects, one of which is Xeodrifter for the Nintendo 3DS. While there wasn't an exact date in sight Jools Watsham has announced that it will drop next week on Dece...

In August, it was revealed that Mutant Mudds developer Renegade Kid was working on a metroidvania for Nintendo 3DS titled Xeodrifter. It's about an interstellar vagrant, and the game was supposedly born from a Moon...

Mutant Mudds developer Renegade Kid unveiled a new project today in a developer diary over at GoNintendo. It's a bite-sized metroidvania game for Nintendo 3DS about an interstellar vagrant, entitled Xeodrifter, that...

Mutant Mudds was released on the Nintendo 3DS all the way back in 2012, but it's still updated to this day. In addition to adding the Granny levels that were introduced with the PC version of the game, developer Renegade...

Mutant Mudds has been quite the cash cow for Renegade Kid. In addition to its original 3DS incarnation, the game has seen a release on Steam, the PSN, and the Wii U -- the latter of which got quite a few bits of extra content...

May 19 //
Kyle MacGregor
Moon Chronicles: Episode 1 (Nintendo 3DS)Developer: Renegade KidPublisher: Renegade KidReleased: May 15, 2014MRSP: $8.99
For those unfamiliar with the original game, as I was before starting this journey, Moon Chronicles is a tale set in the near future, following generic protagonist Major Kane on a mission to investigate some bizarre happenings on, yes, the moon. A mysterious hatch has been discovered on the satellite's surface, and he has the unenviable job of figuring out what's going on beneath the surface.
Due to the game's episodic nature, we only get a taste of the story in the first four chapters. But, suffice to say, things go terribly wrong, people die, and you're left to explore a hostile foreign environment. Along the way, you'll receive orders from your commanding officers, who seem to know more than they let on, which gives it a nice dark sci-fi vibe reminiscent of Aliens or Event Horizon -- except, you know, nowhere near as compelling.
In terms of gameplay, Moon Chronicles emphasizes exploration and atmosphere more so than action. Seemingly drawing inspiration from the Metroid series, players will find themselves in drab corridors with roadblocks that necessitates some mild puzzle solving. Frequently this involves utilizing a tiny RC robot, which can squeeze through tight spots and open doors from behind.
The combat is generally bland, with predictable enemies that can be easily outwitted by strafing back and forth or running around in circles, but one encounter in particular left a lasting impression. My little robot pal, armed with only a stun gun, wheeled around an obstacle and came up against multiple foes. The enemy drones started ripping the little guy apart with laser fire, requiring me to make a mad dash to unlock the doors so Major Kane could come to the rescue just in the nick of time. It was a rare exciting moment in an otherwise tepid experience.
While the shooting itself is pretty simplistic, the controls can make things a tad more complicated. While the game does boast Circle Pad Pro support, the 3DS obviously doesn't come equipped with a second analog stick as standard, which might be frustrating with players lacking the peripheral. Moon Chronicles handles this one of two ways: using the stylus and touchscreen or, alternatively, the face buttons and trigger.
While the latter method is more comfortable, as holding the 3DS upright with a pair of hands is far easier on the wrist, it's also less responsive. Fighting enemies with this control scheme adds a great deal of challenge, but not in a good way, as the speed of the reticle moving around the screen is painfully slow. The stylus method is far more accurate, but supporting my 3DS XL with a single hand for an extended period of time gave me cramps. And I never really figured out how to hold it in a way that felt natural.
Thankfully, the experience is a short one, so players needn't suffer too much pain. My first time around, I completed the episode in roughly an hour. Much of that run time included needless backtracking, though, as I found myself turned around in rooms that looked nearly identical to one another. After getting my bearings, I promptly went back through the episode for a speed run, which clocked in at under 30 minutes.
Now, I'm not usually one to equate game length with value, but roughly an hour of gameplay for nine bucks seems a little steep. And while more episodes will be coming at a later date with smaller price tags, I'm not sure I'm too fond of the pricing model. Renegade Kid is asking players for a larger sum upfront, before they know what they're really getting into. It's a relatively high barrier of entry, which I could see limiting the potential size of the audience.
Aesthetically speaking, Moon Chronciles looks considerably nicer than the original game, and still runs at a clean 60 frames-per-second, even with the stereoscopic 3D switched on. That said, the art direction is fairly uninspired and the visuals still seem a tad dated. These issues are most evident with the nausea-inducing robot camera and in brief cutscenes scattered throughout the experience, which see a significant nosedive in quality with the standard graphics.
After a bit of exploring, shooting, some light puzzle solving, a boss fight, and a hilariously precarious vehicle section; the experience just kind of ends. You go into a new shaft and it's over, not so much in a cliffhanger but more of a break between levels. And that's what this really is: the first level of a game. I'm kind of torn between wanting to play more or just saying 'Well, that was fun for a bit' and moving on with my life.
It's really difficult to give Moon Chronicles a strong appraisal one way or the other. It's far from a stellar experience, but isn't a bad one either. There just isn't anything here that hasn't been done better elsewhere, and I can't see anyone other than FPS-starved 3DS owners or hardcore fans of the original being too interested.
Regardless of how good Moon Chronicles may or may not be, though, it will forever hold the distinction of being the first FPS on the Nintendo 3DS. And nobody can take that away from it. Nobody.

One small, tepid stepFive years ago, a little game by the name of Moon launched on the Nintendo DS. Being a competent first-person shooter on a portable platform, it was something of a curiosity. Studios seldom attempt the genre on handhelds, and...

Nintendo 3DS first-person shooter Moon Chronicles is blasting off on May 15, Renegade Kid announced today.
The first four chapters of the remastered Nintendo DS game will be available to download starting next week ...

Renegade Kid's Cult County Kickstarter failed to obtain its desired funding level, but the studio is moving on -- starting with its episodic revival of the Moon franchise on the 3DS. But in addition to Treasurenauts...

On Friday, the clock struck zero for Renegade Kid's Kickstarter project Cult County. The crowdfunding campaign failed to achieve its $580,000 goal by a wide margin. It seems that target was a bridge too far, as the Mutan...

Renegade Kid is currently in the process of seeking funding for Cult County, which is set to hit all major consoles and PC. One of the best things you can do in a Kickstarter campaign is quell people's fears with actual game...

Developer Renegade Kid, responsible for the DS survival horror adventure Dementium: The Ward and sci-fi shooter Moon, has taken to Kickstarter with a brand new project. It's called Cult County, and it aims to blend specific e...

Word from Renegade Kid (Mutant Mudds, Treasurenauts, Moon, Dementium) is that they'll be launching a new Kickstarter on April 2nd. They're keeping the specifics under wraps, but I did get a hint that there may be first person...

Renegade Kid has a lot of projects in the works -- Moon Chronicles, Cult County, and Treasurenauts. Of all of the games in their upcoming portfolio though I'm the most interested in the latter, which features old school 2D e...

Renegade Kid has released a new trailer for Moon Chronicles, recently announced for Nintendo 3DS. The remake of the 2009 first-person shooter released for the DS boasts improved graphics in full 3D and will be delivered in f...

Mutant Mudds Deluxe is out this week on Steam, which marks the first time the newly enhanced version is available outside of the Wii U. As a pure platformer through and through, the extra levels and increased difficulty help ...

Funny how these things turn out. The long-awaited Steam version of Mutant Mudds Deluxe is actually releasing earlier than expected -- it's now ready to launch on November 21, 2013. The Wii U version's 20 new ghost levels are ...

A new developer diary for Dementium II HD has been unleashed upon an unwitting world. This time, sound designer Morné Marais goes over some of his approaches to creating audio for the game, always crucial to evoking the proper mood in a horror title.
Who knew such a cute little mutt could be responsible for so many horrible sounds?